This invention relates to a banking method and system for processing documents, and more particularly, the system includes an entry processing unit, basically, for capturing mechanically, certain data on the documents, a data entry processor for generally completing data which was not mechanically captured at the entry processing unit, and an encode and sort unit, using the data obtained from the entry processing unit and the data entry processor, to encode certain data on the documents and to sort them in accordance with predetermined instructions.
The documents such as checks, for example, which are used currently in banking systems have certain data such as individual account numbers, bank routing numbers etc., printed thereon in magnetic ink, for example, and this data is commonly referred to as magnetic ink character recognition or MICR data. When a document is received at a bank for processing, the monetary amount of the document is written, for example, by a customer in plain or non-magnetic ink. Part of the routine processing of a document such as a check requires that the monetary amount of the check be printed thereon in magnetic ink, thereby making it part of the MICR data on the check to be used for subsequent mechanical processing.
Generally, such typical documents including checks are processed in "batches" including about 200-300 documents in each batch. Certain accounting or banking operations are performed on a "batch" of such documents.
Some prior art banking systems are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,949,363, 4,205,780, and 4,264,808, for example.